Semantic Roles

Definition: of Semantic Roles
1) Actor: The role of an argument that performs some action without affecting any
other entity. Sylvia left.
2) Affected: The role of an argument that undergoes a change due to some event of is
affected by some other entity. A window broke, Tom broke a window.
3) Affecting: The role of an argument that, without any action, affects another entity.
Betty likes opera, Opera delights Betty.
4) Agent: The role of an argument that by its action affects some other entity with
volition. Tom broke a window, David cooked the pie.
5) Associate: The role of an argument that tells the status or identity of another
argument, the theme. Roger is a student.
6) Effect (Patient): The role of an argument that comes into existence through the
action of the predicate, often undergoing some change in state. Linda baked a pie,
The sun melted the ice, Linda cut back these bushes..
7) Place: The role of an argument that names the location in which the action of the
predicate occurs. The fireman climbed a ladder, The books are under the table.
We prayed in the grand mosque..
8) Theme: The role of an argument that is the topic of a predicate that does not express
action – a stative predicate. Audrey is a computer expert, The book is in the library.
9) Instrument: the means by which the action is performed or something comes about.
They signed the contract with the same pen. She locked the door with a key.
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10) Goal: the entity towards which something moves, either literally as in (a) or
metaphorically as in (b): a. Sheila handed her license to the policeman. b. Pat told
the joke to his friends.
11) Source: the entity from which something moves, either literally as “The plane came
back from London” or metaphorically as “We got the idea from a British
professor”.